


The Lengths I'd Go To

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Orfus [3]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Near Death, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 19:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17473676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: It started as nothing more than respect between two strong mages, and it wasn't until later, as Rufus lay bleeding in Orga's arms that they realised it had become a lot more.





	1. Chapter 1

    Their friendship hadn’t come about quickly. The Sabertooth that had existed back then had not been a place that encouraged friendships, only strength and at that time their differences had been far stronger than their similarities. Orga was loud and openly confident in his own abilities, not caring who heard him, while Rufus by nature was much quieter and refined. He was strong, but he didn’t flaunt it and often gave the misperception of being weaker than he was. Over time, they had come to appreciate the others strength as in a guild like their’s strength was celebrated, and neither could miss that the others name was bandied around as much as their own, but they made no effort to try and change their relationship from just guildmates to friends.

   The first sign of change had come when Rufus had accidentally come across Orga when he was practising, finding himself mesmerised by the God-slayer’s overwhelming strength and the dark lightning that filled the air around him. Unfortunately, his presence hadn’t gone unnoticed, and the other man had refused to let him leave until he showed him his strength, and with the inspiring sight of the black lightning, it hadn’t been entirely unexpected for him at least that he had mimicked the attack. However, what he hadn’t respected was the gobsmacked expression on the green-haired man’s face or the hint of respect in the white eyes that followed him as he left the training ground and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from pausing and glancing back.

“Your Lightning is quite magnificent,” he murmured softly, before walking away before Orga could come up with a response, and the Memory mage had found himself smiling at the spluttering sounds he could hear behind him even as he pondered what had possessed him to say it in the first place.

   Things had been odd between them after that. The previous apathy was gone, but there was an awkward tension underlying their interactions that neither of them knew how to deal with. However, despite that they found themselves seeking one another out more and more often. Sometimes it would be for training, although that had a habit of descending into a trial of strength because Orga seemed floored by the fact that the slighter mage was evenly matched with him. But increasingly they began to seek each other out just to talk, discovering a shared appreciation for battles and battle tactics, and while Rufus never grew as comfortable with attention as the other man, he came to appreciate the other’s loudness using it as a shield against unwanted eyes. While Orga discovered that the quiet mage he had always dismissed as dull and too focused, possessed a sharp wit and even sharper tongue, and more than once he found himself doubled over at some of the things the younger man would say, and slowly the respect began to shift towards friendship.

    The defining moment for their friendship came during the fiasco that was the Grand Magic Games. Both had been supremely confident in their victory, only to discover that the world beyond their guild was far faster than either of them had appreciated. However, neither one of them were people to lay down after a defeat, especially not when they realised that the danger they were in. After the number of jobs, they had taken together and their training, it had been second nature to join their attacks, both of them entirely focused on one another and the Dragon in front of them. Although neither of them had been able to ignore the Twin Dragons shocked comments, realising that they had never made it obvious that their friendship had grown, and they had glanced at one another, smirking slightly before blaming the change on Fairy Tail.

    Those smirks had disappeared a short while later. Luck had not been on their side from the start, their attacks barely fazing the beast in front of them. And perhaps they should have realised that they were only going to be able to hold out for so long, but their confidence in their own abilities and each other had kept them there, and kept them fighting.

Then it hadn’t been enough…

   Rufus had seen the Dragon’s mouth opening, the light from its roar illuminating the whole area and in a split second, he had realised three things. _One,_ that Orga was directly in the path of the incoming attack. _Two_ , the God-slayer was currently occupied with fighting some of the smaller beasts and _three_ …that he was already moving forward. He made no effort to block the attack, knowing that it was futile, and instead, he focused on closing the distance, and for a brief moment, Orga was solid and real under his desperate hands. He had a brief glance of panicked white eyes before the older man was flying forwards to safety, and then all he knew was pain as the roar ripped into him, tearing him apart at the seams and he could do nothing to hold back his scream.

    When awareness came back to him, he found himself being cradled in Orga’s arms as though he was a fragile doll. Although even that gentle touch sending waves of pain through his body, although he did everything he could to hide it as the God-slayer’s face finally came into focus and his breath caught at the guilt written across the other man’s face.

“What the hell were you thinking?” It was wrong, Rufus thought muzzily as he thought to get his own voice to work. The Lightning mage was never meant to sound like that, and he blinked in shock when a drop of moisture landed on his cheek a moment later, and it took him a moment to process the fact that yes – Orga…the man who had laughed at the emotional displays of their opponents during the games, was actually crying above him. It took far more effort than it should have to lift his hand, and he was only vaguely aware of the tattered remnants of his sleeve as he focused on shakily wiping away the tears, before letting his arm fall back in exhaustion.

“Why…are you crying?” Okay, that was far harder than it should have been. _I’m tired._ His eyes were slipping shut even as he thought that, but he forced them open when Orga shook him a second later, flinching slightly as he realised that the older man had leaned in and was staring at him with desperation in his eyes. “I’m tired…”

“Don’t you dare die on me!” Orga growled, shaking him again when Rufus’s eyes threatened to close once more, and the Memory Make mage couldn’t resist quirking his lips up at him as he asked softly.

“Worried?”

“Of course I am you, idiot,” Orga sounded horrified that Rufus would even question it, and his next question completely floored the younger man. “Who else is going to be my friend?” _Friends?_ Neither of them had ever labelled the change in their relationship, it had just happened, and they had accepted it for what it was. _But…that explains why I threw myself in the path of the attack without hesitation._ He knew that in the past he wouldn’t have bothered, he would have left Orga to deal with it alone, even if it meant losing a guildmate. _We’re friends…_ He choked on a soft laugh, realising the irony that they had only realised that fact when it was too late.

“That’s why…”

“That’s why?” Orga echoed with a confused frown.

“Why I went so far. I don’t have enough friends that I can afford to let them die,” Rufus whispered, meeting and holding Orga’s gaze as the other man’s eyes widened in shock, blinking when Rufus rested a hand on the arm holding him and squeezing softly. “This is a memory…I won’t…forget…” He added softly, struggling to get the words out now. The world beginning to swim in and out of focus around him and yet as he sank down into the darkness it seemed as though the other’s face grew sharper and more defined for a moment, fresh tears trailing down his cheeks before even that disappeared as well, and he was oblivious to the agonized howl that echoed above him as his chest stilled.


	2. Chapter 2

     The first thought that came to Rufus as he found himself slowly drifting towards consciousness was, _how am I alive?_ He could distinctly remember the battle, taking the attack for Orga and the strangely emotional conversation that had followed. Somehow he doubted that even if he hadn’t been a Memory mage that he would ever be able to forget that, especially as there was a lingering dull ache across his chest where the attack had landed, and he winced as he shifted experimentally. He was definitely alive if it was hurting that much, and for a moment he wasn’t sure that it was such a good thing. The darkness still lurking at the back of his mind calling to him with a sweet siren song that he was reluctant to ignore and he felt himself beginning to slip back under. However, just before his awareness could fade completely, he felt warm fingers curling around his hand, fingers that he recognised as the same ones that had clutched him so desperately when he had taken the attack.

_Orga…_

“Rufus?” It was faint, barely able to reach him in the darkness, but he would know that voice anywhere, and he found himself fighting against the darkness again. There had been a level of emotion in that quiet question that he had never heard from the other man before, and it tugged at him, but the darkness had a better hold on him now, and it seemed reluctant to release him. _Orga, I can’t…_ He wasn’t sure if his expression had shown some of his distress, or whether Orga was clutching at the hope that he could hear him, but he was relieved when the warm voice rang out again, slightly louder this time as though the Orga’s lips were right near his ear. “Rufus, can you hear me? If you can, please squeeze my fingers.”

   That was easier said than done, Rufus was quick to discover. He could still feel Orga’s hand, the sensation helping to keep him grounded, but when he tried to get his own hand to respond there was nothing. It felt like he was completely disconnected from his own body and he hated the sensation, and yet nothing seemed to produce even the slightest outward twitch and guilt tugged at him as he heard the disappointed sigh from beside him.

“It’s all right,” Orga said softly, and Rufus felt the hand around his squeezing softly, the gesture so gentle that he wanted to cry. He hadn’t even known the other man had it in him to be that gentle, although maybe he should have, as he remembered how carefully Orga had held him after he’d fallen. “I know that you’re fighting, and I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to come back.” _I’m right here. I want to come back,_ Rufus wanted to scream, but the words were trapped in the darkness just as much as he was, and despair crashed in on him as he felt himself being pulled under once more, his awareness of the outside world disappearing once more.

_Orga…please…I’ll come back…so please keep your promise…_

**

    The next time awareness came trickling back he felt stronger, the darkness falling away from him as he pushed towards consciousness. He was vaguely aware of many more near-awakenings, and he wondered just how much time he had wasted trapped in this strange in-between state, wondering whether Orga was still waiting for him. Desperately clinging to the belief that he was, as that thought gave him strength, and slowly but surely he found little bits of the real world reaching him. It was quiet wherever he was, but he could hear a soft, rumbling sound nearby that made his lips quirk up in a smile. He couldn’t quite place it at the moment, but there was something about it that soothed him and made him think of home. Next came smells, a familiar smell of ozone tickling his nose and underneath that, the less pleasant of medicines and he wanted to groan. He had always gone out of his way to avoid the infirmary, but it seemed like he was trapped there at the moment, and finally, he had no idea how many minutes later, he finally managed to coax his eyes open.

    For a moment all he could see was a blurry mix of darkness and indecipherable colours, and he blinked, discomforted by the blur only to discover that blinking had cleared it a little. He blinked again and again, more deliberately this time and slowly the ceiling above him began to come into focus. The darkness remained, telling him that it was night time, but he could make out familiar wooden beams and he sighed as he realised that he was in the room their guild had been given for injuries during the Grand Magic Games, part of him had hoped that he would at least be in their guild’s infirmary. The soft, rumbling sound was louder now that he was awake, and he jumped a moment later when it was interrupted with a loud snort, and his eyes widened with understanding as he turned towards the noise.

  _Orga…_

    The God-slayer had somehow managed to cram himself into the tiny seat next to the bed, the poor thing looking like it might give at any moment. His head had fallen back into what must’ve been a ridiculously uncomfortable position, although there was no sign of discomfort as he snored softly, and Rufus shook his head slightly. It was a common joke in the guild that Orga could fall asleep anywhere and in any position, but this proved it, and he winced in sympathy for the abuse the other man’s body was undergoing. His attention drifted upwards, and he blinked as he took in the unkempt state of the other’s hair and clothes. Orga was never one to pay as much attention to his appearance as Rufus was, but he tended to be neater than that. And understanding slowly dawned as his gaze shifted to the Lightning mage’s face, taking in the dark shadows under his eyes and the worried frown that had survived even in sleep, a warmth blossoming in his chest as he recalled their last conversation.

  _‘Are you worried?’_

_…’Of course, I am…’_

“Orga…” He called softly, or rather he tried to, his voice coming out as a harsh croak which told him he had probably been unconscious longer than he wanted to know.  Clearing his throat as best as he could, he tried again. “Orga!” The other man jerked at the noise, head falling forward and for a moment Rufus feared that he was going to topple out of the chair, but then Orga caught himself, although the chair gave an ominous creak as he straightened.

“Wha…?” Orga was clearly still half-asleep, rubbing a hand across his eyes, his half-focused gaze drifting over the Memory-make mage, who waited patiently for the other man to realise that he was awake. It took a moment, but he knew the moment that Orga had noticed because there was a harsh intake of breath, the white eyes widening, followed by the warmest smile he had ever seen from the other man passing across his face as he leant forward. “Rufus…?”

    Hearing his name said like that. Like it was the most precious thing in the world brought tears to his eyes, and he found himself unable to speak, settling for giving a small nod in response. _I’m back. I’m home._ He let out a startled cry as he was abruptly being pulled into strong arms a moment, biting down on his lip to stop himself from making another noise as his sore body protested the movement, but the discomfort was forgotten as he found himself burying his face against Orga’s chest. He could hear the God-slayer’s heart pounding beneath him, and his lips quirked up as he realised that it was mirroring his own and he was stunned to realise that there were tears on his cheeks. _I’m alive…_ His breathing hitched, a sob slipping free despite his best efforts to hold it back, and he felt Orga tense for a moment before there was a gentle sensation on his forehead, and it took him a moment to realise it was a kiss.

“Orga…?” He pulled back just enough to be able to peer up at the other man, something fluttering in his stomach at the expression on the older man’s face and his breath caught as the Lightning mage leant in, a question in the white eyes that never left his. _Is this what you want?_ He couldn’t get his voice to work, he couldn’t even bring himself to nod this time, but he made no move to escape as Orga closed the distance between them, chafed lips pressing against his. The kiss was tentative at first, nothing like the God-Slayer’s usual confident movements, but slowly he grew in confidence, and Rufus allowed himself to be caught up in it, letting the older man lead as he pressed closer.

  They both wore matching soft smiles as they pulled away a moment later, but there was a shadow of something darker and more serious in Orga’s eyes before he pulled Rufus back into a tight hug, resting his head against the younger man’s and whispering softly as he pressed soft kisses to blond hair.

“Don’t ever do that again…”

 


End file.
